I am getting quite a few people telling me they are going to buy a Chinese pool heat pump because they are are a couple of hundred dollars cheaper then a USA or Canadian brand of swimming pool heat pump. Many people don’t even know that they are buying a Chinese or other countries products as the manufacturers or distributors make it almost impossible to tell where the heat pump is made. Even if you call them or e-mail them a few try to hide the origin of their heater. With all the uncertainty in the world with trade issues, tariffs and political conflicts it is safest to go with a North American pool heat pump. With most of the USA manufacturers I can call the head engineer or even the owner of the factory to help out a customer if they need me. I know how long a company has been in business and also what their customer service is like. People buy a heat pump from me because I know what is going on in the industry and they know that I will be there for them for years to offer help and advice if they need anything. When you buy a foreign heat pump you are going to be on your own. An exception to that rule is that Hayward and Raypak are using Chinese heat pumps for their smaller pools and they will stand behind them. Even Jandy, Built Right and Zodiac Pool products are not USA owned anymore. Lots of transition in the industry. Hayward is not a privately owned company anymore as they are now a public corporation answering to stock holders. How are you supposed to know that? Pool heat pump reviews are worthless if they are over 2 years old. Everything has changed. You need someone in the trade to help you get the best reliable swimming pool heat pump at the most competitive price with the highest efficiency, a long warranty from a company that is doing everything right with the highest chance of their still being in business in 10 or 15 years. Do you want to buy a heat pump from a company that also makes pool toys and umbrellas or do you want to own a heat pump from a factory that only lives and breaths heat pumps with engineers staying up late at night thinking of ways to make them as reliable as possible? I have been also hearing customers say that they can’t find enough reviews on some brands of heat pumps so they don’t want to take a chance. I heard that on a brand that has been around for over 25 years last week. Folks, this industry isn’t Amazon with 1000 reviews on a product. Sometimes not finding bad reviews is a good thing. If you are not finding enough recent reviews on the product to satisfy you then I suggest the old standby BBB for the company. Yelp and Google reviews can’t hurt either. Even if you have the greatest pool heater in the world and the company doesn’t care about you then you can do better. If you have questions about a brand or company please send me a text or e-mail and I will tell you my opinion. Oh, and a shout out to all my friends on Long Island, New York where you have the utility PSEG. Right now they have a rebate program of up to $1,000.00 back on a swimming pool heat pump. That is as good as it gets in the heat pump world and it is an amazing program. I know what models qualify if you have any questions.
Have a great season and as Steve Austin says: I hope to see you down the road.
Best,
Marcus Miller President
